Apparatus for dispensing liquid or paste-like material in portions



Feb. 20, 1968 C. W. SCHNYDER APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING LIQUID OR PASTE-LIKE MATERIAL IN PORTIONS Filed Oct. 18, 1966 United States Patent Ofifice 3,369,706 Patented Feb. 20, 1968 3,369,706 APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING LIQUID OR PASTE-LIKE MATERIAL IN PORTIONS Conrad Wolfgang Schnyder, Triesenberg, Liechtenstein Filed Oct. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 587,581 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Oct. 22, 1965, 14,623/ 65 5 Claims. (Cl. 222-82) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A liquid dispenser having no valves which become clogged by'use and which will not drip liquid from the dispensing nozzle between uses. The dispenser pump has a cylinder with an end which is displaceable inwardly and outwardly but which is biased against both such displacements and a dispensing nozzle on the lower portion of the cylinder. The cylinder has a piston with a longitudinal duct extending from the end of the piston facing the displaceable cylinder end to an upwardly extending suction duct and a downwardly extending outlet duct so that when the piston is pushed inwardly, the cylinder end is displaced outwardly until the outlet duct aligns with the dispensing nozzle whereupon the cylinder end returns to its normal position to exhaust liquid through the nozzle,

The present invention concerns apparatus for dispensing a liquid or paste-like material in portions as e.g. liquid or paste-like soap. One object of the invention is to provide a novel feed pump of simple construction which requires no valves which could be gummed up by the liquid or paste being fed.

The apparatus according to this invention, which is provided with a pump comprising a piston sli-dable in a cylinder, is characterised by the fact that one end of the cylinder is closed by an elastic or spring biassed membrane, that the piston has a longitudinal duct leading to this end of the cylinder, a transverse suction duct leading from the longitudinal duct and a transverse outlet duct leading from the longitudinal duct and that a suction opening and an outlet opening are provided in the cylinder wall, the suction opening being aligned with the transverse suction duct in a first position of the piston and the outlet opening being aligned with the transverse outlet duct, in a second position of the piston.

A further object of the invention is to so construct apparatus for dispensing a liquid or paste-like material in portions, that a refill bottle can be effortlessly inserted directly into the apparatus and that when the refill bottle becomes empty, a supply of the material to be delivered is still available until the latter is replaced by a new bottle.

To solve this problem, the invention provides apparatus for dispensing liquid or paste like material in portions which includes a feed pump (preferably, but not necessarily, a pump of the previously described form) and which is characterised by the fact that a reservoir is connected to the pump inlet, and carries a mounting provided with a coarse thread, to which a refill bottle provided with a corresponding coarse thread may be connected, a knife arranged inside the spigot being adapted to cut a closure wall of the refill bottle. Further features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a constructional example given with reference to the accompanying drawing and from the claims.

The drawing shows a schematic vertical section through a soap dispenser for delivering individual portions of liquid soap.

The illustrated soap dispenser is provided with a soap container comprising a reservoir 1 with a refill bottle 2 made of a synthetic material mounted thereon. The bottle 2 is screwed into a screw threaded mounting 3 on the reservoir 1 which has a coarse thread. Inside the mounting 3 the reservoir carries a knife 4, which is arranged to cut the membrane covering the opening of a new refill bottle 2 as it is screwed in, so that the liquid soap flows from the bottle 2 into the reservoir 1.

A transparent window 6 is arranged in front of the reservoir 1 in a front wall 5 of the casing of the soap dispenser, and the reservoir 1 is itself also of a transparent material. Alternatively the reservoir 1 could be opaque and could have a window or an inspection glass or the like behind the window 6, in which the level of liquid in the reservoir could be observed.

The arrangement being described has the advantage that through the window it can be ascertained when the bottle 2 is empty and a new bottle should be placed in position. At the same time as the bottle 2 becomes empty however, the supply of soap existing in the reservoir 1 is still available, so that the soap dispenser still remains useable, even if the empiy bottle is not immediately replaced.

Replacement of the bottle 2 is very simple. Since a coarse thread is provided in the screw threaded mounting 3 and on the neck of the bottle 2, no more than one turn is necessary to unscrew the empty bottle and screw in the new one. The new bottle remains closed by the wall or membrane covering the opening in the bottle until it is inserted in the soap dispenser. When the new bottle is screwed into the mounting 3 the knife 4 cuts this wall or membrane.

A pump is provided for dispensing the soap and includes a piston 11 which is slidable within a cylinder 10. One end of the cylinder is tightly closed by a flexible, resilient membrane 12, e.g. made of rubber. If desired the membrane could be made of a non-resilient material, e.g. be in the form of a bellows, and instead be spring biassed.

A longitudinal duct 13 in the piston 11 opens into the closed end of the cylinder 10. The longitudinal duct 13 is connected to a transverse suction duct 14 and a transverse outlet duct 15. In the illustrated rest position of the piston 11 the transverse suction duct 14 is in alignment with a suction opening 16 in the cylinder 10, which is con nected to the reservoir 1. Thus, in this position liquid soap flows out of the reservoir 1 into the closed end of the cylinder 10 under the action of gravity and/or of the spring force of the membrane 12.

The piston 11 can be moved out of the illustrated rest position to the right in the drawing against the action of a spring 18, by means of a push button 17. The connection between the transverse suction duct 14 and the suction opening 16 is first-interrupted so that the soap cannot flow back into the reservoir. Subsequently the membrane 12 is bowed outwardly against its elastic spring biasing into the dotted line position, by the pressure of the soap enclosed in the end of the cylinder. Finally the piston arrives at its other end position in which the transverse outlet duct 15 is aligned with an outlet opening 19 in the Cylinder '10. In this position of the piston 11 the soap is pushed out of the end of the cylinder by the elastic force of the membrane 12, through the longitudinal duct 13, the transverse outlet duct 15, the outlet opening 19 and an outlet nozzle 20 connected to the latter, until the membrane 12 has regained the illustrated fiat position.

When the push button 17 is again released the piston 11 is brought back into its rest position by the spring 18, the elastic membrane 12 being bowed inwardly into the position also shown in dotted lines and a low pressure exists in the end of the cylinder. This low pressure is utilised in addition, where necessary, to suck drops which are still hanging on to the outlet nozzle 20 back into the soap dispenser. To this end the opening of the transverse outlet duct 15 is enlarged as shown at 15a, so that it is also in cornmunication'with the outlet opening 19 during a part of the return movement of the piston 11.

Clearly, the spring 18 must be sufiiciently powerful to bow the membrane 12 inwardly so strongly that the piston 11 reaches its rest position in which the soap again flows into the end of the cylinder.

To prevent soap gradually flowing past the piston 11 to the outlet opening 19, during prolonged intervals between operation, the reservoir 1 and the bottle 2 are tight- 1y sealed against the exterior, so that no air can flow into their interior. The bottle 2 is made of a resilient material, so that after soap has been taken therefrom, the bottle is somewhat cavited and a slight under-pressure prevails in the interior thereof which opposes the flowing of soap past the piston 11. Thisunder-pressure should naturally be only small enough so that the spring biasing of the membrane 12 alone is sufiicient to suck the closed end of the cylinder full of soap, as soon as the transverse suction duct 14 is aligned with the suction opening 16.

Clearly the pump described is not only suitable for soap dispensers, but can be used wherever a liquid or paste like material is to be delivered in individual portions. This pump is a true pump and not merely a slide valve, since the inwardly bowed membrane produces an under-pressure to provide suction, whilst the outwardly bowed membrane exerts an over-pressure for forcing the material supplied.

The pump however requires no valve with moving parts,

which can be gummed up by the material being fed.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for dispensing a liquid in portions with a pump which comprises a cylinder, wherein one end of the cylinder is displaceable inwardly and outwardly but biased against both such displacements, a piston, a longitudinal duet extending from within said piston to the end of said piston facing said displaceable end of the cylinder, a transverse suction duct leading from the longitudinal duct, a transverse outlet duct leading from the longitudinal duct, a suction opening and an outlet opening in the wall of said cylinder, said suction opening being aligned with y V v v 4 the transverse suction duct when said piston is in a first position and the outlet opening being aligned with the transverse outlet duct when said piston is in a second position.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the piston is spring biased towards the said first position.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transverse outlet duct in the piston is enlarged so that it also communicates with the outletopening during a part of the return movement of the piston from the second to the first position.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction opening is connected, in an airtight fashion, to a closed resilient container for said material.

5. Apparatus for dispensing a liquid in portions, having a pumy which comprises a cylinder, wherein one end of the cylinder is displaceable inwardly and outwardly but biased against both such displacements, a piston, a longitudinal duct extending from within said piston to the end of said piston facing said displaceable end of the cylinder, a transverse suction duct leading from the longitudinal duct, a transverse outlet duct leading from the longitudinal duct, a suction opening and an outlet opening in the wall of said cylinder, the suction opening being aligned with the said transverse suction duct when said piston is in a first position of the piston and the outlet opening being aligned with the said transverse outlet duct in a second position, and wherein a reservoir is connected to said suction opening and carries a mounting having a coarse thread to which a refill bottle provided with a corresponding coarse thread and a closure wall may be connected, and a knife inside of said mounting adapted to cut the closure Wall of the refill bottle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,308,258 7/1919 Rose 222-340 X 2,655,286 10/1953 Barbaro 22282 3,200,994 8/ 1965 Levinson et al 22282 STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Examiner. 

